| Jonathan Hall Named Newsletter Editor for the Brooklyn Chapter of the American Guild of Organists August 31, 2003 |
| This July saw my final issue as Newsletter Editor of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. This September will see my first issue as Newsletter Editor for the Brooklyn Chapter, which along with the NYC and Queens Chapters represents organists in New York City. The NYC Chapter is chartered to represent Staten Island and the Bronx as well as Manhattan. Queens and Brooklyn have their own chapters. (New York City is composed of five politically equal districts, or "boroughs"--not, as some seem to think, one "real" city and four "other places." Anyone who takes that attitude is probably from out of town, and is certainly missing the boat.) Communication--fair, open, friendly, non-elitist, helpful, democratic communication--is the only hope for any non-profit, educational organization. And, as that maddening radio commercial goes, "people judge you by the words you use!" In other words, style, grammar, spelling, literary allusion and vocabulary all count! This goes double for an organization that is devoted to classical culture. Graphics--unless we're talking about a photography journal!--are fine, but are secondary. For years now, I have sought to put my degrees in English to work for the AGO, serving as newsletter editor in Chicago, Bloomington IN, The NYC Chapter, and now the Brooklyn Chapter. I do take this work seriously--email will never replace printed paper, not while any of us are alive and they keep making fuzzy refrigerator magnets--and I hope that my work in this area is of genuine interest and help to my colleagues. |